You can just about make out the strains of the Carpenters’ classic tune “We’ve Only Just Begun” humming in the air down around the new stadium development in S.E. these days. Wait, no, that song is about falling in love. Whoops. I think we meant something more like “I Hate You” by Slayer. It’s so easy to get those two mixed up.

Yesterday, at its last meeting before taking their summer recess, the D.C. City Council approved the sale of a large parcel of land which sits north of the new Nationals stadium site along South Capitol Street and N Street SE to developer Herb Miller, for $61 million. As part of the deal, Miller will include a large stadium-dedicated parking lot with 925 spaces for cars in his planned mixed-use development, which will count toward the 1,225 parking spaces required to be built by the city, according to their deal with Major League Baseball.

So that’s great, right? Problem solved? Not according to the Nationals. Instead they’re throwing around accusations of fiscal carelessness and poor planning, all approved at the last minute without thorough investigation, which could potentially cause the new ballpark to open late — a fiasco which could cost the District millions in penalties. Even D.C.’s own Chief Financial Officer, Natwar Gandhi, who must certify the sale before it becomes binding, has said he is not confident in the plan’s financing. At the same time, Gandhi has stressed that construction must begin by Labor Day in order to keep the stadium deal on schedule.

It sure smells like the beginning of a long and acrimonious relationship between the city and National’s new owners. The Council basically said “trust us on this one, guys,” and forced the team to do it their way as the clock ran out. Especially if any problems with Miller’s plan do arise, we shouldn’t expect relations to turn friendlier any time soon.